Syria Opinion: Empty Talk --- The US and Its Allies Have No Strategy to End This Crisis

Protesters in Kafranbel in Idlib Province send a message to President Obama, 16 December 2011

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What is left as a strategy? Hope. The EU hopes that sanctions will topple the regime. Kofi Annan hopes the observers will end the violence. Obama hopes that Kofi Annan is right. NATO hopes that if then does not work, then Obama will do all the work himself. Saudi Arabia hopes that getting the Syrian insurgents some AK-47s or high-powered sniper rifles will topple the regime. Turkey hopes that refugees will stop flocking across its borders. The whole world hopes that, as the crisis draws on, jihadis, who are loving every minute of this, will not get involved.

The problem? There is absolutely no evidence that any of those hopes will succeed.

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Syria Live Coverage: Obama Says "Assad Must Go" --- But How?

A Free Syrian Army officer claims the assassination of several top officials of the Assad regime (see 0630 GMT)

See also Algeria Video Feature: The Uprising That Wasn't
Bahrain Live Coverage: Regime Says, "This Protest Good, This Protest Bad"
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Shelling in the Morning, Protests in the Afternoon

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1626 GMT: Syria. The Local Co-ordination Committees of Syria claims 28 people have died today, including 19 in Hama Province.

United Nations observers moving through the rubble of Rastan:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Shelling in the Morning, Protests in the Afternoon

Video of this morning's explosion in Deir Ez Zor in Syria

See also Bahrain Live Coverage: The Many 10,000s Marching
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Students Rise in Aleppo

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1535 GMT: Yemen. Officials have said at least 22 insurgents and 12 Yemeni soldiers were killed in clashes and air strikes overnight in a regime offensive in the south of the country.

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Syria Snap Analysis: Lessons from the Resignation of the Syrian National Council's Burhan Ghalioun

See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad Says, "No Chaos, Please"

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The crisis marches on, regardless of how well, or poorly, things go in the expatriate community. Politically, the status quo is unlikely to change in the near-future. Do the Syrians, or the international actors, really want to latch their entire plan to end the crisis on a strong, officially-recognised leadership? If so, how will that plan adapt if the Syrian crisis deepens, or even closes in on a conclusion, before the legitimacy of that leadership is established inside the country?

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad Says, "No Chaos, Please"

1910 GMT: Syria. Away from Aleppo, the news was as ugly as ever in some places. Activists report that several shells fell on Douma, an important suburb of Damascus. According to the LCCS, at least one man was killed by sniper fire, and at least 5 people were killed when shells fell on several homes. A graphic and disturbing video claims to show an entire family dead or dying, being evacuated on a truck after a shell reportedly fell on their home.

1905 GMT: Syria. An amazing picture, from a day to remember, at Aleppo University:

Aleppo University today #Syria twitter.com/KareemLailah/s…

— Ḱ@яℯℯм ℒαḯł@н (@KareemLailah) May 17, 2012

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Conflict Renewed

2011 GMT: Syria. According to the Local Coordinating Committees, large protests are being held tonight in Douma, a key suburb of Damascus:

However, there is also a report that security forces have raided Daraya, another suburb, and one that has seen regular night time firefights over the last several days. This video reportedly shows the gunfire:

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Syria Snapshot: The Regime's "Jihadist" Disinformation? (Mqayed)

Caption from Al-Akhbar: "A man wearing a black shirt bearing an Al-Qaeda flag (L) speaks with a UN observer as monitors meet with rebels and civilians in the village of Azzara in the province of Homs on 4 May 2012. (Photo: AFP- Joseph Eid)"

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the above photo made the rounds on the usual regime-owned & regime-sympathetic outlets --- initially featured on the state-owned daily al-Watan, where it was depicted as “proof” for the regime’s claims about “Salafi terrorist gangs” and even as a basis for accusing UNSMIS observers of “collaboration” with them. The photo also made an appearance in an article by Sharmine Nawrani on al-Akhbar claiming “a growing Jihadi presence in Syria”.

The only, and perhaps most damning, caveat is that the man in the above photo is in fact the exact opposite of what the regime claims.

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Syria Special: An Attack in Khan Shaykhoun --- Getting the Story Wrong for "Neutrality"

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News in Syria comes fast and furious. The regime makes claims, the opposition makes claims, Russia makes claims, Iran makes claims, the Saudis make claims, and the media tries to sort it out. It is a challenging, often uncomfortable task.

But "uncomfortable" or "challenging" are not synonymous with "impossible" and, frankly, sometimes the coverage falls far short of an adequate mark.

Today is a notable. example.

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Syria Snap Analysis: Who Is Behind Thursday's Damascus Bombs?

Smoke rises from a highway in Damascus after two car bombs exploded on Thursday, killing at least 55.

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Another car bombing, more contrasting claims of who's responsible. What does the evidence tell us about who conducted these attacks, and what does that mean for the conflict ahead?

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Syria Analysis: Sorting Out The Truth Beyond Car Bombs and Ceasefires

A protest in Sermin in northern Syria on Tuesday night

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The unanalysed death tolls, the heavily-qualified publishing of conflicting claims, and the overall murky picture leaves the average reader with an inaccurate impression: the situation in Syria is chaotic, truth is unattainable, and there are no real options for resolution. 

Call it disaster fatigue, war fatigue, Middle East fatigue, or confusion fatigue. The likely outcome, after the repetition of days and weeks, is that readers will be left disinterested, tired of hearing about tragedy, and sick of feeling clueless and possibly manipulated.

So, in an effort to avoid this, what do we know about car bombs, death tolls, and ceasefires?

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